copyright: Gaia Foundation

Gaia Foundation press release, Thursday 15th December 2011

Yesterday in Central London a silent protest took place outside the General Meeting of Shareholders of Australian mining company, Coal of Africa Ltd (CoAL). The protest was held in solidarity with the communities of the Limpopo Province, South Africa, who face untold ecological, social and economic damage to their ancestral homes should the mine go ahead.

The CoAL project which will affect this region is known as the Makhado Project. It is in addition to one other mine owned by the company in Limpopo Province, known as Vele, and a further two in the neighbouring Mpumalanga province. Yesterday’s meeting preceded CoAL’s Conditional Placing of Shares on the AIM market of the London Stock Exchange plc, which is set to take place today.

Liz Hosken, founding director of The Gaia Foundation, took part in the protest: “We are here in support of the local communities and especially the Makadzhis - the guardians of the sacred sites and sacred lands of Venda in Limpopo Province. These are the spiritual leaders of the people whose responsibility it is to protect their ancestral homeland, which these coal-mining projects will destroy if  they go ahead. The company haven’t even carried out proper studies, but the one thing that they have admitted is that the underground water will be finished within two years. So there isn’t even enough water for their own projects; let alone for life itself. If there is no water, there is no life. This is truly Ecocide.”

Earlier this week twelve civil society groups and community members from the Limpopo Province sent a letter to over fifty shareholders and potential investors of Coal of Africa (CoAL) demanding that they reconsider their plans to support the company – and specifically the Makhado Project.

The letter set out a number of grave concerns relating to CoAL’s handling of the Makhado project and their neighbouring Vele mine. These included a flawed public participation process; failure to provide adequate answers to questions raised by the community; no water licence; and an insufficient Cost Benefit Analysis (CBA), Environmental Impact Assessment and Environmental Management Plan.

The letter states: “We have a responsibility to our ancestors and to our children to stop the destruction of our ancestral lands. You would do the same if someone wanted to mine your home. Please think about that”.

Notes to Editors:
Watch a 2-minute film about yesterday’s protest and what the mine will mean for the lives of the communities of Limpopo here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZG0Sc9NTRY&feature=youtu.be

For further information please contact Rowan Phillimore at The Gaia Foundation, London on +44 207 428 0054 or rowan@gaianet.org
or A.M. Mudau, Dzomo la Mupo, South Africa email: azwihangwisimosesm@yahoo.com or +27 79 412 2666

Image: Silent protest outside CoAL’s General Meeting of Shareholders which took place in Central London yesterday (Wednesday 14th December). Copyright, The Gaia Foundation.

Representatives from The Gaia Foundation, the London Mining Network and the general public took part in the peaceful protest.
The letter which was sent to CoAL shareholders and investors earlier this week has been based on evidence and analysis drawn from a research report commissioned by an alliance of groups, to look into the impacts of coal mining. The report Mine Not – Waste Not: A preliminary critique of aspects of the CoAL Makhado Colliery Project EIA and EMP is available on the following websites: The Gaia Foundation http://www.gaiafoundation.org and London Mining Network www.londonminingnetwork.org.

Coal of Africa’s website states today that, ‘subject to obtaining shareholder approval to issue the Conditional Placing Shares, the Company will apply for admission of the Conditional Placing Shares to trading or quotation and listing of the Conditional Placing Shares on the AIM market of London Stock Exchange plc (“AIM”) on 15 December 2011 and on the Main Board of JSE Limited (“JSE”) on 20 December 2011. Accordingly, the anticipated settlement date for the Conditional Placing Shares on AIM is 15 December 2011’. www.coalofafrica.com

Tuesday, December 6, 2011
Time: 2:00pm until 5:00pm
The Peruvian Embassy
52 Sloane Street, London SW1X 9SP

Organisers: MOVIMIENTO 22 and MOVIMIENTO MICAELA BASTIDAS-UK – With TODAS LAS VOCES TODAS, MUSIC FOR LIFE, CHAMBIME AND POLO DEMOCRATICO-UK

The assault on Cajamarca-Peru proposed by Newmont Mining (Yanacocha) is an attack against ecology, as its impacts are manifold:

1. POPULATION
· In the area of influence, only 32 communities have been recognized in the districts of Huasmín, Sorochuco and LaEncañada.  However, these 3 districts have 250 settlements.

2. AGRICULTURE
· 98% of the population’s livelihood’s rely on agricultural activities and rearing livestock which require WATER
· Cropsgrown locally include: potatoes, barley, wheat, beans, quinoa, corn, beans, vegetables, peas, sweet potato, cassava and watermelon, citrus fruits, bananas,…
· Cattle is reared for milk and other dairy products

3. BIODIVERSITY
· The vegetation, includes: scrub, wetlands, grassland, river plants
· 460 species of plants: 34 threatened, 46 unique (endemic) of Peru, 6 unique to Cajamarca
· 225 terrestrial vertebrate species: 13 species of endangered birds.  The hummingbirdTaphrolesbiagriseiventris  is Critically Endangered.

4. WATER SOURCES
· The Conga project will affect the headwaters of the following rivers and streams: JadibambaChirimayoChugurmayo and tributaries of Sendamal (Celendín),Chailhuagón River tributary of Chonta (Cajamarca), tributary QuebradaLlaucanoToromacho (Bambamarca).
· All these rivers flow into Maranon River, a tributary of the Amazon River that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
· Lakes: The area has over 20 lakes. The Conga project will directly destroy 4 of these lakes, which in total comprise 34 Ha
· This will affect 102 Deposits of Drinking Water, and over 18 Irrigation canals

INFORMATION
The project proposed involves:
· 2 pits (pit of 1.95 km. Long and 1 km. Depth) and Chailhuagón (pit of 1.80 km long and 600 m depth)
· Two rock waste dumps: Perol (289 Ha) and Chailhuagón (160 Ha)
· A Processing Plant (92,000 tons per day) and conveyor (2.4 km).  From the pits, the ore will be transported to a crusher and the copper, gold and silver will be extracted
· Tailings will be located in the watershed of the Toromachocreek and Jadibambariver, and take up an area of 700 Ha.

See http://www.cerrejon.com/site/Portals/1/Documents/pdf/policies/Cerrejon-%20Human%20Rights%20Policy.pdf.

For background, see articles at http://londonminingnetwork.org/?s=cerrejon.

If you live in the UK, PLEASE URGE YOUR MP TO SIGN EARLY DAY MOTION 2396 ON CERREJON. See http://londonminingnetwork.org/2011/11/please-urge-your-mp-to-sign-early-day-motion-2396-on-cerrejon-coal/.

If you live in the UK, please contact your MP and ask him or her to sign this EDM.

If you do not know how to contact your MP, go to http://www.writetothem.com/.

For the text and signatories, see http://www.parliament.uk/edm/2010-12/2396.

CERREJÓN COAL COMPANY MINE, COLOMBIA

That this House expresses concern about the devastating social and environmental impacts of the Cerrejn Coal company’s huge opencast coal mine in Colombia, owned in equal parts by London-listed multinationals Anglo American, BHP Billiton and Xstrata; notes with concern that communities forcibly dispersed before these companies bought the mine have yet to receive justice in the form of adequate compensation or community resettlement; further notes with concern that an agreement to reconstruct the evicted community of Tabaco remains unfulfilled and that communities currently facing involuntary resettlement accuse Cerrejn Coal of inefficiency and injustice in its dealings with them; is concerned that the proposed deviation of the River Rancheria, the main river in La Guajira, for mine expansion, will threaten water security for the region; further notes that some of these communities have formed a federation to seek justice from the company; further notes that the President of this federation has sought the support of British parliamentarians and that unionised mineworkers at Cerrejn fully support this federation; and urges the Government to require the London-listed companies involved to ensure that the federation’s demands are accepted in full by Cerrejn Coal.

Nearest tube: Knightsbridge.

Organised by:

Colombia Solidarity Campaign

Movimiento 22

COLOMBIA, the second most BIODIVERSE country in the world, home to 105 INDIGENOUS CULTURES, is under theat by MINING MULTINATIONALS.  Mining titles now cover 8% of national territory.  London-listed ANGLOGOLD ASHANTI holds the majority of them, many in Indigenous or Afro-Colombian lands, or areas with UNIQUE or IRREPLACEABLE ECOSYSTEMS.  Land is being handed over to mining companies with the blessing of the Colombian state.

On 3 June this year, 13,000 people marched in the streets of Tolima to say YES TO LIFE, and NO TO LA COLOSA MINE.  Unless stopped, La Colosa will become the largest open cast gold mine in South America.  Nestled in the Colombian Andes in an area of strategic importance as a ‘water factory’, the CYANIDE used to process the ore will contaminate water for drinking and irrigation for the wider region.  Colombians are demanding the right to continue living in a clean and safe environment.

The people of Tolima will march again on 14 OCTOBER. They would like Colombians and Friends of Colombia throughout the world to show their Solidarity, by convening at their closest Colombian Embassy on the day to say YES TO LIFE, and NO TO THE MINE.  Our solidarity is of utmost importance as recently, threats have been received by opponents of the mine in Anaime, near Cajamarca, Tolima.

Bring Placards, Banners and let’s make a noise!!

More info:

Report: LA COLOSA: The Quest for El Dorado in Cajamarca, Colombia
http://www.colombiasolidarity.org.uk/mining/548-la-colosa-the-quest-for-el-dorado-in-cajamarca-colombia

Documentary: Gold Fever in Cajamarca http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHxcZZ50opU

Documentary: AngloGold Ashanti in Ghana http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7Mz4hsCEpk

Threats to opponents of the mine: http://www.elnuevodia.com.co/nuevodia/tolima/regional/112789-campesinos-de-anaime-amenazados-por-coincidencias

See http://www.mineweb.com/mineweb/view/mineweb/en/page72068?oid=137155&sn=Detail&pid=92730 and
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/10/10/bhpbilliton-idUSL3E7LA0FA20111010.

Australian Nuclear Free Alliance calls for a moratorium on uranium mining

MEDIA RELEASE,  11th October 2011

In the wake of the approval of the Olympic Dam expansion, the Australian Nuclear Free Alliance (ANFA) is calling for a moratorium on uranium mining due to the long term impacts associated with the nuclear industry.

Uncle Kevin Buzzacott, Arabunna elder from Lake Eyre and President of ANFA, addressed a rally at Parliament House in Adelaide yesterday held in response to the approvals announced by the State and Federal government:

“Today is a very sad day, but it’s not over yet. We are not going to rest until the government reverses its decision. We want BHP Billiton out of the desert. If we have to bring this town to a standstill, then so be it.”

South Australian Minister for Mineral Resources Development Tom Koutsantonis said yesterday that the mine will be subject to the most “stringent environmental conditions.”

“If 8 million litres of radioactive waste per day leaking into the underground rock and aquifer, and almost 9 billion tonnes of radioactive waste left in the desert at the mines closure, is acceptable under these conditions, then the South Australian government is setting the bar extremely low,” said ANFA Committee member Nectaria Calan.

“The radioactive waste will remain on Kokatha and Arabunna Country long after the former ‘Big Australian,’ now 76 per cent foreign owned, packs up its business and moves on.”

The expansion means an increase in shipments of uranium oxide and copper concentrate railed through the Northern Territory and shipped out from East Arm wharf on Larrakia land.

Donna Jackson, ANFA co-chair and Larrakia woman said, “the transport and export of these goods puts additional pressures on our emergency services, if we increase the volume, we increase the chance of an accident happening.”

“We stand by the Kokatha and Arabunna who oppose this expansion and we repeat our opposition and distress to the approved increase of two trains a day transporting radioactive materials through the NT and out from our Darwin Harbour.”

For comment contact:
SA: Kevin Buzzacott   0431 157 747, Nectaria Calan     0432 388 665
NT: Donna Jackson     0427 847 186

THE LIZARD’S REVENGE

Invitation/Press Release

DLF  – Desert Liberation Front

Response to the government’s decision to expand Olympic Dam mine.

Sleeping underneath the ground there is an old lizard, Kalta the sleepy lizard. The lizard ain’t so sleepy anymore.

BHP is mining right into that Lizards body. The government has just approved an expansion of the Olympic Dam uranium mine, making it the biggest uranium mine in the world.

Kalta is angry and wants revenge. Arabana elder Kevin Buzzacot is calling the people of the world to help the lizard shut down the mine. He is calling for people to come and heal the land in the name of peace and justice for the next 10,000 generations to come.

The land is being irreversibly poisoned in and around Roxby Downs by the tailings dam causing dust and ground water contamination, and contamination of its workers.

The uranium is taken all over the world and used to kill the land and all its creatures. It’s destroying lives not only in Fukashima, with the reactor meltdown, but in the depleted uranium shells that children play with in the streets of Iraq and Kosovo.

With the governments numerous attempts to put a nuclear waste dump at Muckaty in the Northern Territory there is a danger that radioactive waste will be brought back, opening Australia up to accepting nuclear waste from all over the world. Lets stop the deadly cycle where it starts.

The land the lizard and the creatures of this earth are summoning everybody who gives a shit to the gates of Roxby Downs on the 14th of july 2012 for The Lizards Revenge – This is an open invitation to all people and a special call out to artists, musicians and activist community groups and media to get involved in the creation of this autonomous zone for the peace and healing of this land.

Party in a Dangerous Planet with Theatre, Cabaret and Art installations. Over 20 musical acts. Solar Powered sound system extravaganza and wind powered cinema. More to be announced…

Stand up and boogie down at the Gates of Olympic Dam 14th July 2012.

For more info email- izzybrown@live.com

Derbyshire County Council as the Mineral Planning Authority, had indicated that it would oppose the application which is due to be heard on the 13th of October at 2.30pm.

In the last 48 hours we have learned that the planning officer for Derbyshire County Council Mineral Planning Authority has now produced a report, very strongly recommending the approval of the Lodge House expansion to the planning committee. This leaves virtually no time for objection or democratic scrutiny.

It is important to express the view of the wider community, and to support the villagers of Smalley, who have democratically expressed their opposition to the scheme.

Please support them by signing the on-line petition http://www.thepetitionsite.com/1/Smalley-opencast/ Note however, that unless we succeed in getting the planning meeting postponed, the last point at which the petition could be accepted is likely to be around noon on Monday the 10th, so please act now, and spread the word to all your transition and other contacts and networks, regionally, nationally, and internationally. It would be great to be able to show that concern about coal mining, carbon emissions, and local impacts is widespread and deeply felt!

See http://www.no-tar-sands.org/category/latestupdates/.

If you live in the UK, please email your MP about La Colosa gold mine and ask him or her to sign the Early Day Motion.  It will only take A COUPLE OF MINUTES to copy and paste the e-mail below. There are only four working days until parliament goes into recess (Tuesday).

Please see http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmedm/110713e01.htm and scroll down to Early Day Motion (EDM) number 2076. (If you are unsure what an Early Day Motion is, see http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/business/edms/)

In order for the EDM to carry any significant weight, it is of paramount importance for it to attract as many signatures as possible from other MPs. PLEASE SEND A QUICK EMAIL TO YOUR MP, urging them to sign the EDM entitled “La Colosa Gold mine in Colombia”. You can write it using your own words, or it will only take a couple of minutes to copy and paste the e-mail below and send it to your MP.

You can obtain your MP’s e-mail address by entering your postcode at: http://findyourmp.parliament.uk/ and then clicking on your MP’s name to get his or her email address.

Please remember to fill in your MP’s name, and your own name and address, otherwise they will not process the email.

If you have friends, family or colleagues who may be interested in this mail, please forward it to them as well.

Thank you for showing your solidarity to the people of Colombia.

========================[subject]=========================================

Early Day Motion on La Colosa Gold Mine in Colombia

==========================[start]=========================================

[your home address]
[date]
Dear [ name of your MP],

I am writing to bring to your attention the Early Day Motion entitled “La Colosa Gold mine in Colombia” which has recently been submitted by Jeremy Corbyn MP. It expresses concerns about La Colosa Gold mine, what will be –- if it goes ahead –- the largest open-cast gold mine in South America.

As it is located in the Central Forest Reserve of Colombia, and surrounding area has strategic water sources and is of vital importance to food production, I am concerned about the environmental impact that it will have.   Such projects often also have a significant social impact, leading to displacement of people, and in Colombia have often coincided with increases in violations of human rights.

The EDM expresses the concerns about the environment, and concerns about the safety of those in civil society who are currently peacefully voicing opposition to the project. It also expresses concern about the track record of the company in question, AngloGold Ashanti, which according to a Human Rights Watch report was responsible for funding a paramilitary group in Democratic Republic of Congo, and has also caused environmental and social devastation in Ghana. In January this year, AngloGold Ashanti was awarded the Public Eye award for being the Most Irresponsible Company in the world.

The EDM questions how it is possible that the company, despite having a subsidiary listing on the London Stock Exchange and having 12% and 53% of its investors from the UK and USA respectively, is not subject to OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.  This is because its headquarters are in South Africa, and neither Colombia or South Africa are signatories to these guidelines. The EDM concludes by urging the government to enforce stricter regulation so that this and other companies listed in the London Stock Exchange, where they receive significant funding, cannot evade accountability.

More information, including references, about the issues mentioned in the EDM available at:

http://londonminingnetwork.org/2011/06/la-colosa-the-quest-for-el-dorado-in-cajamarca-colombia/

I am writing to you to convey my support for this EDM, and hope that you will consider adding your signature in support as well.

Yours sincerely
[Your name]

==========================[end]=========================================

For you information, the full text of the EDM reads:

That this House expresses its concern about the devastating environmental impacts that the proposed La Colosa open cast gold mine, will have on a region of considerable biodiversity and importance for food production; further expresses concern about potential violations of human rights that often coincide with the presence of such projects; notes that the company in question, AngloGold Ashanti, has a track record of environmental and human rights abuses in Africa; further notes that the same company, despite having a listing on the London Stock Exchange and 12% of its investors from the UK, is not subject to OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises; and consequently urges the Government to enforce stricter regulation so that companies listed in the London Stock Exchange cannot evade accountability.

In the Phulbari area of Northwest Bangladesh, communities have come together to raise their voices against the proposed Phulbari Coal Project–which threatens to turn this fertile agricultural region into an open-pit coal mine.  If implemented, the mine would have devastating environmental impacts and ultimately displace up to 220,000 people.

The mine is being proposed by London-listed GCM Resources.

See http://accountabilityproject.org/section.php?id=43.

See also short video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3aQZsQjFPI.

The programme has apparently revealed that British consumers are being given the wrong information by retailers when buying gold jewellery. See: http://www.professionaljeweller.com/article-9611-uk-jewellery-giants-in-spotlight-over-dirty-gold/

For a direct link to the programme go to: http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/articles/the-real-price-of-gold-pledge (You can also sign up to the pledge and make comments). The programme covers material on Goldcorp’s Marlin mine in Guatemala. Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AVA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

See also http://www.retail-jeweller.com/in-business/responsible-retail/high-street-jewellers-under-fire-over-ethical-gold-sourcing-in-dispatches-programme/5026651.article and an article in the Daily Mail, see:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2007976/Is-wedding-ring-dirty-gold-Documentary-links-child-slavery-high-street-jewellery.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

Oxfam America has created a petition, which they will hand deliver to the Guatemalan Government. Sign on at: https://secure.oxfamamerica.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1229

Goldcorp is a Canadian company. Among its major investors are British-based AVA Investment Managers UK Ltd., Blackrock Commodities Income Trust plc and City Natural High Yield Trust plc.

See: http://www.minesandcommunities.org/article.php?a=10988

See http://www.amnesty.org/en/news-and-updates/india-toxic-sludge-leak-vedantas-red-mud-pond-threatens-rural-communities-2011-06-0

See also urgent action at http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/asset/ASA20/021/2011/en/0e3a63c4-60b0-46a6-99dc-eabfb487b0d9/asa200212011en.html.

The disaster at the Fukushima plant in Japan convinced German Chancellor Angela Merkel that nuclear power would never again be a viable option for her country. Now Merkel has embarked on the world’s most ambitious plan to power an industrial economy on renewable sources of energy. And she is anything but a left-wing greenie. The party she leads, the Christian Democratic Union, is the political equivalent of the Republicans in the U.S.

See http://e360.yale.edu/feature/germanys_unlikely_champion_of_a_radical_green_energy_path/2401/.

Fukushima fuel melt confirmed
http://www.world-nuclear-news.org/RS-Fukushima_fuel_melt_confirmed-1605115.html

More-than-expected damage found at Japan reactor – a serious setback for efforts to stabilize the radiation-leaking complex
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_JAPAN_EARTHQUAKE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2011-05-12-08-28-30#6afa1237-2cd4-4ffa-a318-916bb2b13b13

Fukushima: Village on way to becoming ghost town
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20110513f1.html

Truth a Letter from a High School Girl Living in Fukushima
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BXodi9X49pw&feature=share

Fukushima Petition
Please sign this new EMERGENCY petition to roll back reckless radiation limits and protect hundreds of thousands of Japanese children from a lifetime of cancer fear.
http://fukushima.greenaction-japan.com/